Uniform, stationery stores struggle to survive as schools remain shut
As uniform and stationery stores hope for schools to restart soon to boost their sales, most are looking to diversify or operate in online mode to survive
With uncertainty around reopening of schools that were closed in March in view of the coronavirus pandemic, shops that had already stocked up on school uniforms and stationery for the upcoming academic year (2020-21) are reporting low sales.
One such shop at Delhi’s Daryaganj area claims to have replaced uniforms with casual wear to stay afloat, reported CNBC TV.
Talking to CNBC, NP Singh, owner of New Lyllalpur Cloth Store said, “We are the third generation uniform sellers. Even demonetisation couldn’t disrupt our business. Last time our business was affected during the 1984 emergency. For last six months, there has been zero sales for uniforms. Now we are diversifying ourselves to the casual clothes.”
While VK Gupta, owner of Rai Book Store, shared, “We have been in books trading business for over 60 years and are providing services both online and offline. Nearly 50 percent of our sales are hampered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Our main business is to provide textbooks to schools, and it was severly affected due to the lockdown as the most of the sales takes place in March.”
He added: “This year, sales for creative stationery have picked up. As we hope that the situation normalizes soon, there’s a need to shift 20 percent to 30 percent of our trade online.”
As uniform and stationery stores hope for schools to restart soon to boost their sales, most are looking to diversify or operate in online mode to survive.
Meanwhile, India reached a grim milestone on August 30 as the country’s single-day tally of 78,761 coronavirus infections became the highest reported by any nation since the pandemic began.
The world’s second most populous nation is the third worst-affected globally after the US and Brazil, but its daily tallies have exceeded those of the other two countries for almost two weeks.
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